Colchester has been found to have one of the 'healthiest' high streets in the country.
Bankrate have created The HealthRate index, analysing the amenities surrounding major UK high streets.
Each town or city was awarded a score based on healthy life choices, social interaction and mental wellbeing.
Colchester ranked in at 29th in the list.
Town centres were awarded points for how many leisure centres, green spaces, gyms and museums they had.
Points were also deducted for the number of fast food restaurants, vape shops, payday lenders and betting shops.
How did Colchester fare?
This is how many points Colchester was awarded for each category.
Gyms: 42
Leisure centres: 33
Green spaces: 15
Eateries suitable for vegans: 218
Libraries: 4
Museums: 12
Wellbeing centres: 54
GP access: 52
Pubs: 75
Fast food: -226
Vape shops: -16
Payday lenders: -48
Betting shops: -18
TOTAL: 197
The 10 healthiest high streets
1. York: 471
2. Glasgow: 454
3. London: 379
4. Oxford: 377
5. Cardiff: 357
6. Ipswich: 340
7. Edinburgh: 324
8. Bath: 306
9. Manchester: 305
10. Leeds: 302
York’s high score can be partially attributed to the large number of vegan-friendly restaurants (162) surrounding the high street.
They also had well above the national average number of leisure centres – 43 points in total.
The second healthiest high street is located in Glasgow, with 454 points. Glasgow has a large number of gyms surrounding their high street - its gym score is 4.7 times higher than the national average.
The 10 unhealthiest high streets
1. Peterborough: -104
2. Rotherham: -77
3. Swindon: -19
4. Slough: -19
5. Poole: 4
6. Luton: 9
7. Blackburn: 15
8. Newport: 16
9. Huddersfield: 17
10. Gateshead: 17
Peterborough’s low score is due to their below average number of gyms and lack of green space near the high street.
Peterborough was deducted 150 points for the number of fast food takeaways available to citizens.
In second place is Rotherham’s high street, with -77 points in total.
Their low ranking is linked to a lack of overall facilities. Data shows that there is only one local leisure centre and zero libraries surrounding the high street.
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